NAME:________________________________________________________________________________CLASS:_______
WORLD HISTORY SEMESTER 1 FINAL EXAM STUDY GUIDE
EXAM DATE:__________________________________________
The final exam will cover all material from throughout the first semester. The following is a list of notes that we have
discussed in class (PowerPoint files are available at http://mrbilbrey.wordpress.com/wh/):
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World Religions
Early Human History
Early Civilizations
Ancient China
Ancient India
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Ancient Mediterranean World
Societies & Empires of Africa
Fall of Rome/Byzantine Empire
Rise & Spread of Islam
Maya/Aztec/Inca Civilizations
This study guide is intended to help you go through your notes and find the important information. It is NOT a list of
questions that will be on the exam. Utilize this guide, as well as your notes, maps, and any other important assignments
to help you prepare for the final exam.
As you’re studying, be thinking about how the information fits into the five Social Studies Themes: POLITICAL, SOCIAL,
ECONOMIC, RELIGIOUS, TECHNOLOGICAL.
EXAM FORMAT: multiple-choice, true/false, matching, short answer
WORLD RELIGIONS
KEY VOCABULARY:
Monotheism
Polytheism
Rank the world religions from least popular to most popular (by number of followers).
Rank the world religions from oldest to youngest.
Which world religions are monotheistic? Polytheistic?
What three world religions began in the Middle East? What else do they have in common?
Who were the founders of the six major world religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism)?
EARLY HUMAN HISTORY
KEY VOCABULARY:
Hunter-gatherer
Slash-and-burn farming
Nomad
Neolithic Revolution
Domestication
Culture
Catal Huyuk
What three periods make up the Stone Age?
What are the defining characteristics of the Paleolithic Age?
What is a hunter-gatherer? What do they typically do/not do?
What is the Neolithic Revolution?
What does it mean to domesticate an animal?
What is slash-and-burn agriculture?
What is the name of one of the earliest permanent settlements ever discovered?
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS
KEY VOCABULARY:
Mesopotamia
Specialization
theocracy
Pharoah
Hammurabi
city-state
Cuneiform
What are the essential characteristics of civilization?
What are city-states?
What was the first written language?
Label the four rivers valleys:
A.
B.
C.
D.
What is Hammurabi known for?
What type of government did ancient Egypt have?
Why do we not know that much about the Indus River Valley civilization?
Describe at least one thing that made the Huanghe River valley civilization so unique.
Why did the civilization along the Huanghe (Yellow) River valley develop independently of other civilizations?
ANCIENT CHINA
KEY VOCABULARY:
Confucius
Centralized government
Qin Dynasty
Silk Roads
Legalism
Bureaucracy
Shi Huangdi
Han Dynasty
Patriarchal
Who was Shi Huangdi? What is he known for?
Who was Confucius? What are some of his main ideas/philosophy?
What is Legalism?
What is Daoism?
Compare the POLITICAL and SOCIAL characteristics of the Qin and Han dynasties.
ANCIENT INDIA
KEY VOCABULARY:
Gupta Empire
Alexander the Great
Mauryan Empire
Aryans
Religious tolerance
Asoka
What are the two main dynasties associated with Classical India? How did they begin?
What is the caste system? How did if affect Indian society?
How were the economies of Ancient India and Ancient China similar? How were they different?
ANCIENT PERSIA (ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN WORLD)
KEY VOCABULARY:
Cyrus
Zoroaster
Satrap
Royal Road
How did the Perisan Empire organize itself? How was this beneficial to its people?
What was the Royal Road? What were the benefits of this road?
ANCIENT GREECE (ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN WORLD)
KEY VOCABULARY:
Polis
Democracy
Monarchy
Peloponnesian Wars
Aristocracy
Hellenistic
Oligarchy
Tyrant
Name and describe the most commonly found types of government in Ancient Greece
What type of government did the city-state of Athens promote?
Who were citizens in ancient Athens?
Describe the government of Sparta.
Who was Alexander the Great, and why was he important?
ANCIENT ROME (ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN WORLD)
KEY VOCABULARY:
Republic
Julius Caesar
Consul
Pax Romana
Senate
Patrician
Punic Wars
Plebeian
What are the two phases of Roman history? How are they different?
Describe the political structure of the Roman Republic.
What was the original purpose of the Roman Republic?
What was Julius Caesar known for?
Who was Augustus?
What does Pax Romana mean? Why is this term important?
Why did Christianity spread so easily throughout the Mediterranean area?
What was the original reaction by the Roman government?
When/how did Christianity become the official religion of the Roman Empire?
SOCIETIES & EMPIRES OF AFRICA
KEY VOCABULARY:
Aksum
Ezana
Ghana
Stateless societies
Sundiata
Ibn Battuta
Swahili
Great Zimbabwe
Griots
Mansa Musa
What are the defining characteristics of early African socieites?
What religion did King Ezana convert to? What religion took over and caused Aksum’s decline?
What major themes/characteristics do most of the western and southern kingdoms of Africa share?
What affect did Islam have on the societies and empires of Africa?
Describe the early slave trade of Africa.
FALL OF ROME/BYZANTINE EMPIRE
KEY VOCABULARY:
Inflation
Hagia Sophia
Mercenary
Patriarch
Diocletian
Icon
Justinian Code
What were the main contributing factors in the decline of Rome?
What attempts were made to reform (or fix) the Roman Empire before its collapse?
Who was Justinian? What was he known for?
How did the Byzantine Empire compare to the old Roman Empire? (What changes occurred?)
RISE & SPREAD OF ISLAM
KEY VOCABULARY:
Muhammad
Mosque
Muslim
Hajj
Shia
Sunni
House of Wisdom
Caliph
Umayyads
Sufi
Who was Muhammad? What type of person was he?
What are the Five Pillars of Islam and what do they mean?
Who are the Sunnis and Shia? What caused their split from each other?
Who were the Umayyads?
Why were the Abbasids?
Where was the capital of the Muslim empire moved to? Why?
Describe the social class of the Muslim empire.
MAYA CIVILIZATION
KEY VOCABULARY:
Tikal
Glyph
Popol Vuh
Who was a primary influence on the Maya? What were those influences?
How did the Maya organize their civilization?
Describe the Maya religion.
Describe the Maya economy.
Why did the Maya decline?
AZTEC CIVILIZATION
KEY VOCABULARY:
Quetzalcoatl
Triple Alliance
Montezuma II
Who were the Toltec? How did they influence the Aztec?
Who was Quetzalcoatl? Why was he important to the story of the Aztec?
Describe the social classes of the Aztec.
Describe the Aztec economy.
What role did human sacrifice play in Aztec society?
Why did the Aztec civilization decline?
INCA CIVILIZATION
KEY VOCABULARY:
Ayllu
Pachacuti
Mita
Quipu
Who was Pachacuti?
How did the Inca create and control such a large, unified empire in the Andes Mountains?
What are some aspects of the Inca religious beliefs?
Why did the Inca civilization decline?
GEOGRAPHY
DIRECTIONS: On the final exam, you will be asked to label the continents and oceans, plus 25 additional countries
and/or bodies of water.
Seven continents
Iran
Persian Gulf
Five Oceans
Iraq
Philippines
Afghanistan
Japan
Russia
Angola
Kazakhstan
Sea of Japan
Arabian Sea
Kenya
Somalia
Bay of Bengal
Laos
South Africa
Benin
Libya
South China Sea
Burma (Myanmar)
Madagascar
South Korea
China
Malaysia
Sudan
East China Sea
Mali
Thailand
Egypt
Mediterranean Sea
Togo
Ethiopia
Mongolia
Tunisia
Ghana
Nepal
Turkey
India
North Korea
Vietnam
Indian Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Yellow Sea
Indonesia
Pakistan
Zimbabwe